Roxy the Wonder Dog!!

Today was the Dog Show Day at Tana's school. I was really nervous about how she would get along with the other dogs and being around all those kids. But she didn't bark even once!! I was amazed. She did all of her tricks and let most of the kids pet her. Then she started to get nervous and was trying to hide behind me. I was sooooo proud of her. She is such a great dog!!

Our New 4 Wheeler

We have really been living it up this Memorial Day Weekend. Our good friend Amber came over to BBQ for us. She is such a great cook. We had a great time talking "Dance, Dance, Dance" as my husband puts it. We had Eric's mom over too, but I guess Amber and I were yakin' so much they couldn't get words in edge wise. Well, too bad!! I haven't seen my girl for a few months and we had catching up to do. Well at the end of the night we got talking about her family's cabin up in Island Park, Idaho. They have canoes, four wheelers, fishin' poles, a fire pit, etc, etc. Well she invited us up for a weekend. We are really excited about it as it is real close to West Yellowstone. It sounds beautiful and so fun. We were so reved up about our conversation with Amber about camping- the next day we ended up at the four wheeler store. We were just going to see how much they were and what we would like to buy. But there was one model on sale and we just couldn't pass it up. We immediately took it out in the hills and all took turns driving it. We took my dad with us. Sierra did great with the clutch and switching gears. She is a natural. She had a big Cheshire grin every time she would come back. The little ones would just piggyback with daddy. Justice isn't too sure about it yet- he's a little scared, but Tana loves it. We had so much fun I forgot to take pictures of us in action. But here is a picture of Justice playing on it parked. So now we are scheming about more ATV's a trailer, a new truck- you know how it goes. But we are loving our new addition.

Trudy & Norrison Middleton

I have some sweet neighbors who have only been married for three years. They just had a son, Norrison, born earlier this month. They had been trying for two years to get pregnant so it was such a blessing to finally have this baby. Well, their little family was traveling to Logan and was involved in a serious accident. Sweet Trudy and baby Norrison who was only 12 days old, plus another bicyclist, were killed in the crash. This leaves Michael, the father and husband, alone. Today was the funeral for Trudy and Norrison. Some very interesting things were said at the funeral that I wanted to share. Trudy was one of those perfect people who could have been translated to heaven at any moment. She played several instruments, was in three choirs, taught music to disabled children, was very involved with our church. An amazing woman. Although the funeral should have been extremely sad- it wasn't. It was a pure celebration of someone who lived their life in a truly admirable way. Her father spoke, and said something that really stuck in my mind. Death is not a period in the sentence of our lives, it's a comma. We live on.
Of course her husband is consumed with guilt and loss. But I spoke with him and he seems to be holding it together and was even smiling today for a moment. I heard others say that he has turned this tragedy into a triumph. He is celebrating her life, looking forward to their future, and is trying to carry on in a way that will take him back to Trudy and Norrison. Here are some links to information about the accident and the obituaries. May God keep you both in his tender care.

ksl.com - Accident in Sardine Canyon Kills Three

The Salt Lake Tribune Obituary Notices

Life is so fleeting. It is so easy to get caught up in the day to day details of life, the mundane schedules. We try to pack some fun in- but today I was thinking about what would be said of my life if I were to die. What have I done with this life that God has given me. There is so much more I would like to accomplish- but accomplishments are not my errand. Relationships are. I am going to focus more on establishing truly meaningful relationships with my kids, my husband, my parents, my students. I am so grateful for the chance I have to be a mother, wife, daughter. I want to make their lives better because I was a part of it. I love you my friends and family. I am thankful for the experiences of my life, the tragedies, and the sweet successes. The highs, the lows. They all come together for a meaningful purpose. Like polishing a rough stone.
On a sweet note, I helped at the luncheon for the family after the funeral. Justice ended up sitting by Michael . Michael said to him "Hi, partner. Looks like you could use some company. I'm here alone too. Wanna be buddies." I started to cry hearing him say that. Justice smiled at him and they had some cute conversation. Life goes on.

Tana the Artist!!

Montana has always been the artist of our family. She goes through reams and reams of paper, boxes and boxes of crayons, pencils, erasers, and markers. I decided it would be fun for her to take an art class. After looking everywhere for one with a kid program I finally found one. She had her first drawing class yesterday and LOVED it!! She got her special pencils, sketch pads for nice drawings, and newsprint pad for doodles and practicing. She made some real progress in her first class. I was so impressed. She was learning to draw in perspective yesterday ( a donut from the side instead of the top, and a round table instead of a flat table. Sounds easy but I couldn't do it even when I tried. She took right to it. It was amazing. After her 1 1/2 hour class, she came home and drew for two more hours. It felt good to be fostering one of her natural born talents. I will see if we can post some of her best work. Maybe someday she will be a famouse artiste and we can say we knew her when.

Tana takes off the training wheels!!!

My sweet baby Tana has been so afraid of taking off those training wheels. Well she finally realized that all the kids her age, and lots of kids younger than her are biking around without them. So she asked us to take them off. She has been practicing with Eric on the grass in the backyard and at the park. Yesterday we had a family date at the park. Tana was riding all over really starting to get the hang of it. She still doesn't have the confidence to go it alone yet, but it was sure thrilling to see her go 50 ft or so with no help before diving off the bike. I don't know what's funner to watch, Tana's face, full of excitement, or Eric rushing in to catch her before she crashes. It was one of those mom moments where I just love my family and their milestones so much.

London

Well I am back in Frankfurt after spending the night in London. What an amazing city. This is a place where you would have to spend a week or more to see everything. So much history. Here are a few shots.I know the one with the Tower Bridge in the background I look mad. I wasn't. The sun was in my eyes.

This is the one where I am eating fish and chips. It was good.

Big Ben. Was an amazing sight. It was huge. This has been a great trip but I am so ready to get home.

The meeting in London went very well. There was a lot of energy in the room. Which makes up corporate types relax a bit. We are putting the majority of our eggs in this basket so we want to make sure it sells well. Thus far all is going as planned. Tomorrow we launch here in Germany. They are planning to sell product on site which should be very interesting.

Last but certainly not least tomorrow is Mother's day. I wish I had words to explain how I feel about my mother and more importantly the mother of my children. I cannot put into words what it means to me to know that my wife is home taking care of my kids. She is such a blessing to me. She loves me and I love her more than words can say. So thank you my love for all you do. Thank you for always being at my side. Thank you for helping me to be a better person and thank you for supporting me in everything I do. You are an inspiration to me.

Thursday

This morning we finished up with a recap of what has been discussed and then we went on a sight seeing tour. Since we were in what used to be East Germany, we went to one of the old border watch towers. It was amazing. I can't imagine what it must have been like to live behind the Iron Curtain.

Then we went to lunch and said our good byes. We drove to Wiemar and walked around. It was beautiful. then to Wiemar Castle. Then 2 hours later we arrived in Frankfurt.

We are staying at the Radisson. I was booked in the Business Room Wow... I'm a big shot. Just kidding. The hotel is shapped almost like a circle. My room as all the way on the end and the windows face the city. What a view. We took the train into down town and walked to the old part of Frankfurt. Much to my surprise it is May Fest. So the Brats, wine and beer were flowing freely. What a time to be here.

Tomorrow is London and the flight takes off at 10:00am. So I better get some sleep.